Journey to Disappeared: Discovery by Map Whitman ~ Review

Review:

Set in the not too distant future, mankind has abused the resources of the earth, and the privileged few live within enclaves that allow for the continued wasteful ways. The power, political and literal, is held by corporations tied to their bottom lines of profit first, and they are unwilling to allow renewable resources to gain a foothold. Not at all unlike the battle between the green energy factions and the big oil and coal battles currently in play, although those in favor of the renewable resources and a more even playing field are often ‘disappeared’ or banished to survive outside the enclaves.

Alma and Uly are two children, whose parents were disappeared even though their actions were working for one of the corporations studying the human genome. Alma is protective of her brother, and they have managed to survive fairly well in a mountain retreat. When that safety and isolation is shattered, they start on the journey to meet with others who may be able to find their parents, and reunite the family.

Alma is clever and quick witted with a great sense of responsibility that is far more than she should have to bear. Uly is dependent yet a hopeful light in the story, their interactions and emotional connection is both powerful and well defined and described. Their tender care for the dog, and the lighter moments provided by the dog’s antics were a welcome respite from the tension in this story, with things moving at a fast pace and managing to keep the reader engaged.

Map Whitman has created an engaging and wholly intriguing story that has several correlations to recent conversations and discussions today. With some cleverly placed politicians that are reminiscent of those I would best forget ever knowing, the story will spark chuckles from adults, even as it is written with a YA and teen audience in mind.

Will the future destroy our civilization? Will the Earth revolt against the demons humanity has unleashed? Will humans transform themselves to rebuild a more compassionate society? Would you? Or is it already too late?

The rising storms of corporate greed, peak oil, climate change, pollution, species extinction, new viruses, and over-population have wrought an apocalypse in the not-too-distant future. Life there is recognizable, and yet a hauntingly contradictory blend of high tech and horse-and-buggy. Living on the precipice of this apocalypse, Alma and her brother Uly toil to maintain a mountain homestead safely tucked away from the pitiless corporations which control what remains of a technologically advanced civilization. There, Uly’s mysterious panic attacks might go unnoticed by everyone but his family. But then their parents, working for a corporation to study a virus that attacks the human genetic code, join the long lists of people who have inexplicably Disappeared.

Their mountain paradise shattered, Alma and Uly must make a choice. Do they hobble along in relative safety without their parents? Or do they risk a journey to Disappeared, knowing the corporation will send assassins to stop them? Their extraordinary odyssey through rugged mountains, parched high deserts, dangerous squatter towns, and surreal cutting-edge walled cities leads to cataclysmic discovery – about their civilization, their government, their environment, and ultimately about what it means to be human.

A copy of this title was provided via Author for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

About Map Whitman

Map Whitman was born in Colorado and, although Map has traveled extensively and lived all over the globe, now isn’t so very far from that beginning. After dabbling in the world of corporations and important people, Map left life in big cities for remote places where folks wave to each other simply to revel in the novelty of another human being. Map, along with family and friends, built a yurt on a mountain top and tries to live with a smallish footprint. Neighborhood bears enjoy the yurt nearly as much as Map’s family, occasionally helping themselves to sundry goods despite the best efforts of Map’s Great Dane. Although Map’s books don’t write themselves, Map carves out some time for other things that matter: family, friends, cooking, backcountry skiing, hiking, biking, running, reading, gardening, and meditating. Not quite a hermit, but increasingly reclusive, Map interacts primarily with wild and humanoid residents of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Map relies upon friends and the kindness of strangers to reach out to the outside world.